


Empty Eyes

by CaptiveAuthor



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, be warned that it's really sad, having to reread it to revise/edit nearly killed me, so read at your own risk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 22:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3184724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptiveAuthor/pseuds/CaptiveAuthor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The threadbare, faded, lumpy teddy bears sat askew on the disheveled bed. It could almost be imagined that they'd fallen over as they reached to stop someone from leaving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empty Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [MinAo Teddy Bear AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/93347) by itstrickstersugar, ayuuka, and pacaprincess. 



> This is part of the MinAo Teddy Bear AU which I have been sucked into, but it can work as a standalone fic. All you really need to know is that Aoba and Mink bought each other teddy bears that they love and cherish. Enjoy!

The threadbare, faded, lumpy teddy bears sat askew on the disheveled bed. It could almost be imagined that they'd fallen over as they reached to stop someone from leaving.

Odd as the thought was, Mink couldn't put it from his mind, and it chewed at him like a dog gnawing a bone. "Aoba," he called, then louder, "Aoba!" There was no reply, but he tried to reason that it shouldn't worry him; Aoba was old now - they both were - and Mink had long since been aware of his failing hearing.  _I should take him to get hearing aids,_  he thought to himself, more as a distraction than anything.

"Aoba!" he called again, leaning on a cane as he made his way to the living room, then, "Ren! Huracan!"

The AllMates had been transferred into new bodies years ago, and by now were on their third or fourth models. On Mink's suggestion, Ren now occupied the body of a black lab - the better to serve as a guide dog if necessary. Huracan, though, was simply in a newer version of the same model. Despite Mink's teasing threats of making him a parakeet and Aoba's idea of making him something like a hawk or an eagle, he couldn't imagine changing Huracan that much. He wasn't attached to his AllMate in the same way Aoba was with Ren, but he did feel strangely sentimental towards those pink feathers.

"Ren! Huracan!" In the past Mink would have easily heard the sounds of Huracan's wings flapping and Ren's nails clicking on the hard floor, but, much to his dismay, his own hearing was failing as well.

"Is something wrong?" Ren asked as he padded over to Mink's side. He still had the same deep voice, though it seemed more fitting in his new body.

"Where's Aoba?" Mink tried to keep the worry he felt out of his voice, but from the look on Huracan's face, he could tell it hadn't been a complete success.

Ren cocked his head to the side. "I thought he was in bed."

"I just checked there. He's not."

"He must be in some other room, then."

"I've already checked every room. If he was here, I'd have seen him."

"Neither of us knows where he is," the pink cockatoo stated.

Mink's worry increased until it was almost a physical pain in his chest, like a knife repeatedly plunging into his heart. It was odd enough that Aoba would leave without taking Ren along, but it was downright unsettling that he hadn't even said where he was going.

Wandering back into their bedroom, Mink lowered himself onto the bed. He wanted to go out searching for Aoba, but he knew it would be too much of a strain on his old bones. Surely Aoba would come back on his own. He had to.

A small sigh escaped his lips. He turned his head to the side and his eyes fell on the ragged blue bear - or at least, it used to be blue, but over time it had faded into a dingy pale gray. Mink used to tease Aoba that soon he'd be going gray like the bear, and remembering the indignant look that had always covered his face at that, Mink's lips twitched up ever so slightly.

He pulled the bear gently into his lap and held it tenderly, as if it would fall apart at any moment. Slowly, he ran his hands over its fur, feeling the matted patches that covered its once-silky body. Its black eyes, two embroidered black circles, stared back at him with an empty look that sent a small shiver down his spine.

 _Ridiculous,_  he thought to himself.  _It's just a stuffed animal. Of course its eyes are empty._  Still, he found himself unable to meet its eyes as he placed it back beside his own bear.

Just as he was rising from the bed, the phone rang in the kitchen. He froze for a second, then, cursing himself for not putting a phone in the bedroom, he pushed his body into a run. He knew he'd regret it later, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Slightly out of breath, he reached the phone and picked it up just before the end of the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Hello. Is this the residence of Aoba Seragaki?" a calm, professional male voice inquired.

"Yes!" Mink cried. Then, more quietly, "Yes, this is his husband. Where is he? What happened?"

He listened to the man's explanation, hardly breathing. When the man was done, he asked, "Sir, are you still there?"

"I am," Mink answered in the most even tone he could manage. "I'll be right there."

~~~~~

The sympathetic look on the receptionist's face when Mink said he'd come to see Aoba Seragaki made him want to scream. The rambling of the doctor leading him to Aoba's room was worse.

". . . Luckily, one of the nurses - not on duty, of course - saw him in town - still don't know how he got there - and recognized him." His voice stopped for a second as he looked up at Mink, then asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? He may not-"

"Of course I want to do this. He's my husband." Mink snapped back.

There was silence for a moment, then, in an annoying attempt at conversation, the doctor prompted, "So, is that bear a comfort thing for him?"

Clutching the once-blue teddy a little tighter, he muttered, "Something like that."

After a walk that somehow took both too much time and too little, they arrived in front of the closed door. "You're still sure you want to go in?" the doctor asked one last time.

Mink's harsh glare was answer enough, and the door was pushed open. When Mink walked in, Aoba, looking small and feeble as he lay in the stark white hospital bed, opened his eyes to see who the visitor was.

The shiver Mink had felt earlier while looking at the bear was back, and this time it was worse. Aoba's eyes were clearly different than his bear's - the bear had eyes that obviously were black thread and Aoba had eyes that obviously were not - and yet they had the same empty gaze. Mink began to shake as he walked closer, staring into the hazel eyes that, despite their subtly strange appearance, were so familiar to him.

"Aoba?" Mink asked quietly, tentatively. "Would you . . . like your teddy bear?"

The first words out of Aoba's mouth caused Mink's fingers to loosen their hold and the bear fell to the tile floor with a dull thud.

"Who are you?"

**Author's Note:**

> pleasedon'thatemei'msosorry  
> Feel free to come scream at me on Tumblr (captiveauthor). Goodness knows I probably deserve it.


End file.
